Half a century of Vietnam-France cooperation (part 2): There is still much room for development

The year 2023 marks several important events between the two countries, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a strategic partnership. These are important foundations for further developing the strategic partnership between the two countries. [caption id="attachment_612342" align="aligncenter" width="1068"] [Caption: Scene of the telephone conversation between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Central Party Office. Photo by Tri Dung – VNA]

A busy year

Looking back on a vibrant year in Vietnam-France relations, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang said: “In 2023, Vietnam and France implemented a rich program of activities, celebrating major holidays in bilateral relations, reflecting the maturity and profound development of relations between the two countries.”

According to Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang, in January 2023, the two sides began with a series of activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement in cities that had previously marked the departures of Vietnamese negotiating delegations. This series of activities contributed to affirming the deep bond and traditional goodwill between the people of the two countries.

In the final months of the year, the telephone conversation between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and French President Emmanuel Macron (October 20) and the meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Macron on the sidelines of the 28th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (December 2) once again affirmed the close high-level exchanges and shared understanding and vision between the two countries on the direction of strengthening bilateral relations.

Furthermore, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang noted that in 2023, the two countries had many significant and distinctive exchange activities across various fields, through numerous channels of contact. Both sides organized celebrations commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in Hanoi and Paris, along with events such as Vietnam Week/Day in France and French Culture Day in Vietnam.

On the other hand, the two countries have exchanged ministerial-level visits in many key areas of cooperation. On the Vietnamese side, there were visits to France by Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (June), Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung (November), and Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien (December). Meanwhile, on the French side, there were first-time visits to Vietnam by Minister for Foreign Trade Olivier Becht (late February) and Minister for Civil Service Transition Stanislas Guérini (late November).

In addition, it is worth mentioning that more than 50 delegations from various levels of government, ministries, departments, localities, and businesses and partners from Vietnam visited and worked in France.

2023 also marked the vibrant relaunch of bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the 12th Vietnam-France Local Cooperation Conference in Hanoi (April), the Political Consultations between the two Regional Departments of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries in Hanoi (December), and the 3rd Vietnam-France Strategic Dialogue and Defence Cooperation in Paris (December)...

Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang affirmed: "These vibrant and diverse activities reflect the great response of partners from both sides to Vietnam-France cooperation and give us strong confidence in the bright prospects of Vietnam-France relations in the future."

There is still plenty of room for development.

According to Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang, after 50 years of establishment, the Vietnam-France relationship has accumulated significant progress in both quantity and quality. However, the potential for further deepening cooperation remains enormous, especially as both countries are facing significant demands for national development and contributing to the international community's common efforts for peace and cooperation.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang speaks at the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement. Photo: Thu Ha - VNA

Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang stated that in recent contacts, high-level leaders of both countries affirmed the substance and potential for cooperation, along with shared understandings on a new vision for Vietnam-France relations through an enhanced strategic partnership based on the identified and continuously renewed pillars of cooperation. Many specific and important points have been defined in strengthening political trust and people-to-people exchanges; promoting and transforming cooperation in the fields of defense and security, economy, trade, investment, aviation, energy transition, science and technology, culture, and engineering…

"We are presented with many opportunities to elevate Vietnam-France cooperation to a new level in the coming years and decades," Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang emphasized.

To elevate the relationship between the two countries to a new level, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang said: “The high-level exchanges between the two countries in recent times have clearly demonstrated the important guiding role of high-level leaders in Vietnam-France relations. The two countries will continue to maintain and strengthen these mechanisms to promote coordination and implementation in all areas of trade, investment, science and technology, education and training, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. On the other hand, partners on both sides need to make efforts and take swift measures to take concrete steps to meet the increasingly urgent and diverse new requirements of both Vietnam and France.”

Economically, according to experts, although this is a bright spot in Vietnam-France cooperation, the potential for cooperation between the two countries remains enormous. Therefore, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang believes that both sides need to continue their efforts to ensure that Vietnam's strong products such as textiles, footwear, agricultural and aquatic products can take advantage of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EVFTA) in the French market.

Furthermore, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang emphasized the need for both sides to cooperate in attracting French businesses to invest in areas where France has strengths and which align with Vietnam's foreign investment cooperation orientation, as well as promoting linkages between partners in high technology, industry, and other strategic and key sectors. French businesses should be encouraged to pursue more systematic strategies, allocate more resources to expand their presence in the Vietnamese market, and leverage the Vietnamese market to expand into the region.

For his part, the French Ambassador to Vietnam, Nicolas Warnery, said: “Economics is one of the important areas of cooperation in the Franco-Vietnamese bilateral relationship, as demonstrated by trade exchanges between the two sides, investments, and the establishment and operation of French businesses in Vietnam, in accordance with Vietnamese law.”

“I am very confident that in the coming time, this cooperative relationship will be significantly strengthened after the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Vietnam officially comes into effect in 2020,” Ambassador Nicolas Warnery affirmed.

Mai Huong